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Great Today was a great day with my guest Aaron. He is new to the Redding area and this was
his very first time fly fishing. We did
a lower float and it was as if we had the river to ourselves. The bite was on right away and stayed
consistent throughout the morning, but the afternoon was off the hook! This was a great introduction and he is
completed hooked! Aaron with his very first trout |
Good Katie and I just returned home from a great trip to Belize. We stayed at El Pescador on Ambergris Key. Our group included four couples that were brand new to saltwater fly fishing. El Pescador was a great fit for our group and provided an excellent intro to saltwater fly fishing. The house staff was superb, the guides were very professional, the food was great and the fishery is very intriguing. We had one day of excellent conditions, one pretty rough and windy day, and one day somewhere in between. In 3 days of fishing everyone in the group caught bonefish, one angler caught a permit and one couple landed a couple really nice tarpon. I just wish we could have stayed longer! Katie and I had some excellent shots at permit and I feel like I'll be ready for my next chance, whenever that comes along. Frank with his permit View from El Pescador Main pool at El Pescador Loading up in the morning The dock at El Pescador Andrew & Katie driving the golf cart into San Pedro Relaxing by the pool after a day on the water Heading out in the morning to the back side of the island This crab ate Katie's crab fly! Catherine's tarpon Catherine with her tarpon Bernard's big tarpon Catherine's shark One of the larger bonefish landed by our group |
Today we did a re-run of a trip back in February for a Veteran's First Fly Fishing group from Martinez. They suffered through one of the worst rainy and windy days of the season back in February. I think we made up for it today, though. The weather was a little sprinkly at times but the great overall. The fish were on the bite, too. It was a great way to end our 2018-19 season! |
Great With the flows getting ramped back up to 40,000 cfs, it left all of us scrambling to reschedule our Lower Sac trips. This typically isn’t a problem, but this weekend’s 2-day float that was booked back in November and with six busy lives - rescheduling was not an option. Okay, we can fish the Trinity instead. That was the plan until they decided to bump the flows up to 11,000 cfs on Sunday. We fished the Trinity on Saturday and were fortunately given access to Eagle Canyon Trophy Trout Lake on Sunday!
Due to scheduling issues, I worked with Peter Santley and
Kevin Kay on Saturday and all three boats did very well! My guests Ted and Peter each landed a native
adult and several half-pounders. Peter
and Kevin had similar results, so not only was the weather ideal, the fishing
was great.
We shifted gears and fished Eagle Canyon on Sunday. Today, I was working with Scott Saiki and
Mike Wright and it was a very good day. Everyone hooked into fish and quickly learned these monsters are a
challenge to land on 4x tippet! We were
given lemons, but with the hard work and help of my colleagues, we made
lemonade! Jeff with a chunky one Jim with a very nice one Peter with his very first steelhead Ted hooked this within 15 minutes Ted with a nice steelhead Tommy with a small adult This was so fat, Zack had a hard time holding it up Zack getting some Trinity love |
Good Guest Joel sent these photos from April 11th. He said fishing was pretty slow overall, but he and his dad managed to land some nice fish. Joel with a big one This fish did not like posing for the photo |
Good I stopped by Eagle Canyon briefly today and got to snap a quick photo of our guest Wenda with a great fish. She landed it on a size 16 flashback Pheasant Tail on 4X tippet under an indicator. It was a beautiful day up there! Wenda with a nice Eagle Canyon fish |
Okay It was a wet one today! Kevin Kay and I worked together with a group of long time friends from
the San Jose area. The guys were a lot
of fun and they were all troopers given the conditions. For whatever reason, the fish were pretty
tight-lipped today. We managed to get
several grabs throughout the morning, but only hooked one fish by lunch. The afternoon was better and my guests Rick
and Mark both landed some nice fish, but they also lost a few as well. Today was a tough day for everyone.
The extended forecast is looking dry for at least a week,
and then only a slight chance of rain. If the forecast remains dry, then I would expect the flows to remain at
30,000 for at least another 4-5 days and then they will hopefully start to
drop. Mark with a nice one. Unfortunately Rick's big one escaped the net while preparing to take a photo. |
Good I had a fun day with my guests Larry, and his grandson Aiden. This trip was intended to be for Aiden’s 18th birthday - which was in January, but we had some scheduling challenges due to river conditions given the relentless rain we continue to receive. The flows were pushed to 30,000 cfs on Thursday and we experienced another biblical thunderstorm Friday afternoon, so the visibility was somewhat limited but the color is great. Even with the less than ideal conditions, Larry and Aiden hooked into some really nice fish throughout the day. The fish are concentrated, so fishing these conditions will not yield consistent fishing all day – but it will be very exciting when you find some players! We have rain in the forecast tomorrow – but then there’s nothing but sunshine in the forecast! Who else is ready for spring? Aiden with a chunky one! That didn't take long! |
Good I had a great time with my guests Dale and his son-in-law Miran. Dale has fished with my fellow Confluence Outfitters guides Dax and Leslie, but this was my first time with him on the Lower Sac. Miran had never fly fished before today, but he is totally hooked! The flows had gone up to 20,000 cfs this morning so the fish were a little confused, but we still had a lot of hook-ups throughout the day. It was so cool to see Miran’s expression after landing his first trout on a fly rod! In addition to landing some nice fish, Miran also got to experience what it feels like to lose a really big fish. It was a fun day with lots of great memories! Dale with a fatty Miran's first rainbow |
Slow Hello from the
Klamath Basin,
Hopefully everyone had a restful winter with plenty of time
spent swinging up steelhead in Northern California and Southern Oregon coast.
It is that time of year to start yearning for long hot summer days, chasing
wild trout, in pristine places. This time of year for me is an anxious time.
All the bugs are tied, new lines are put on and the boat has been cleaned from
all the muck that Winter Steelheading brings.
Klamath Basin
forecast:
Water! Water! Water! We have had a good winter this year, which will be especially good for the out-migrating Redband Fry. We should have bumper populations of Redband in three years in that 18”-20” range due to the high water. Water also means that Upper Klamath Lake and Agency Lake will fish really well through July. Total Ice off took place about two weeks ago and the lake is just now starting to fish. Water tempts are hovering around 43 degrees. When that temperatures gets into the 50’s it will be on! I typically start fishing the lake heavily in the Month of May. By June I spend most of my time at in Pelican Bay and Agency Lake at the mouth of the Wood River. Fishing can be extraordinary in June and July!
The Williamson River
opens on May 22nd. The first couple of weeks after the opener can be incredible fishing. Water will be high and off color and the fish will be stacked in the riffles eating sucker eggs. I spend a lot of my time nymphing this time of year and swinging big leeches. May and June will see substantial hatches of Yellow Sally’s and Golden Stones along with the usual suspects of Mayfly and Caddis. As the Williamson begins to drop and come into shape the lake begins to warm, sparking the first push of lake fish that migrate up the river to escape the water temperatures of the lake. Typically we see our first Hex hatch by the end of June. The Hatch will usually run through mid-July. From July through the remaining of the summer fish continue to pour into the Williamson River.
The Wood River opens
April 22nd. The water will be high this year, however resident browns can fall prey to a variety of nymphs and large Leeches swung beneath undercut banks. By June we will see the first sighting of PMD’s, BWO and a few Drakes will be coming off. As the summer progresses lake fish will migrate up the Wood River to escape the trifling water temperatures of the Lake.
Hope to see many of you in the basin this summer enjoying the beautiful scenery and large trout!
Woody
Klamath Basin Redband |
Great Guest report from Peter who fished Eagle Canyon today:"If I had to estimate, we probably both had over double digits in hits and hooking up. Our most successful flies were black and olive leach patterns and red midge
We were able to measure one of them and it was 28-30” long and the girth was around 18.” In other words, it was a giant pig lol.
Thank you again for the hospitality. My father and I got to fish Eagle Canyon twice this year and we are looking forward to what next year brings." |
Great Today was a super fun day with my guests Will and
Creighton. They recently moved to the
Bay Area from Boston and this was their first time fishing in NorCal. The weather was perfect and the grab was
pretty consistent throughout the day. I
think they were surprised at how hard our fish fight as they ended up on the
losing end of their first few hook-ups. They broke the code and were able to land several really nice fish!
We have more rain forecast for the coming week and the flows are scheduled to bump up to 20,000 cfs on Wednesday. It seems our never-ending winter has now morphed into our typical wet spring conditions. Who’s ready for summer? Creighton with a nice one Will with a fatty |
Good I had the distinct pleasure of fishing with Tim and Janie yesterday on the Lower Sac. The weather was stunning, the company was wonderful and the fishing was really good. Janie proved to have the hot hand all day but both had lots of good fish. Morning grab was a litt slow, but we had an incredible afternoon. Most of our fish were in the 17 to 20 inch range as well. Fun. This lady can fish!!!!! |
Good I just wrapped up my last winter steelhead trip of the season with Roff and Bob from Mendocino. We had a typical wet welcome for our first day that saw us on the Smith River due to everything else in the neighborhood being blown out. By noon the rain had lifted and gave way to a picture perfect spring day on the coast. We poked around up river but by days end came up empty handed. Day two we floated the main stem and had it nearly all to ourselves. A marked difference from earlier in the season that can see heavy boat pressure and bank pressure. We got Roff dialed into his spey cannon, a Sage X 10150. Yup, a 15 ft 10 wt. Roff got into a groove by mid day and was making some epic casts. Finally it came down to the last run of the day as the sun dipped behind the redwood curtain. Bob found one in the bottom of the run. A shiny little buck hammered his fly on the hang down and preceded to but on a nice show for all three of us before we netted him and sent him on his way. I can't think of a better way to end my season guiding for these elusive fish. The last day of fishing for winter steelhead is coming to an end for the 2019 season. Most rivers will be closed starting tomorrow, 4/1/2019. Two exceptions are the Smith River and the main stem Eel River. The Eel continues to remain high and muddy after recent rains took her off the table. There was a window when nearly all of the South Fork was fishing and reports were good. The Main Stem came oh so close but again, no cigar. With more wet weather forecast into April it's anyones guess when the main will come back online. The Smith will see another nice bump of rain during this coming week, but fishing has slowed down considerably. Most of the fish in the system are down runners headed back to sea at this point. Although there are a run of smaller "blueback" steelhead that always make an appereance during spring, the majority of the fish have come and gone. All in all it was a good season on the coast that saw better numbers of fish but fewer fishable days due to a very wet winter. The game certainly isn't for everyone but for those who braved cold mornings and soggy afternoons in the hopes of feeling that electric grab I am eternally grateful. Thanks to everyone who came and fished with me this season on the coast! See you next time. Spring break weather Bob and Roff with a dandy chrome steelhead Bob and yours truly with a buzzer beater Bob with a nice bend in his rod Roff getting dialed into his 10150 Sage X |
Good The Kern River Fly Fishers brought up so many people this year that they split into two groups. The 2nd group fished Lower Sac yesterday and Eagle Canyon today. They had good fishing both days and great weather. Rich's big fish |
Good I had a great time today with my very good guest and friend
Ted, and his wife Eloise. The weather
was ideal and the water color is getting back to normal. The morning bite was a little slow, but by
mid-late morning it really turned on for us! The afternoon was spotty, but when we found
fish, it made for some fun times. Ted with a very nice birthday fish! |
Good I guided Wayne and Robert with the Kern River Fly Fishers today. When we showed up at the ramp the river was really dirty. A lot of guides headed to Baum Lake, the Lower Feather River, and other alternate locales. I'm glad we stuck it out because the fishing was actually pretty good. Robert landed his first ever Lower Sac trout and then a couple more. Wayne caught a couple big fish and some smaller ones too. The group had a great time. By the end of the day there was 3 feet of visibility and fish were eating small mayfly nymphs. Robert's first fish Wayne's big fish |
Good Today we had another group of anglers from the Kern River
Fly Fishers and I was one of five boats. The water was off-color as the result of crazy thunderstorm that inundated
northern Redding Wednesday afternoon. Despite
the color everyone in the group were hooking fish. My guests Bill and Cort landed a few nice
fish throughout the day, but found our lower Sac rainbows are fighters. |
Good Took a little drift down a high and slightly off-color Lower Sac today. Didn’t know how things were gonna fish but Sean did a great job of fininding some nice fish. It was a little harder than usual, but all in all a very good day. Some good fish to be found in the high flows. Along the edges! |
Okay I had a really fun day with my guest Nellyda. This was her first time indicator nymphing and she was excited to learn the technique. After a week of consistent flows, the Bureau of Reclamation bumped them up to 15,000 cfs due to the rising lake level. The increase slowed the bite, but we still managed to get several grabs and hooked into a few very nice fish until the strong south winds picked up. I know Nellyda had a great time and I’m pretty sure she is hooked on fishing the Lower Sac. Nellyda was rewarded with this very nice fish! |
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